Zbigniew Bogucki, head of the Chancellery of Polish President Karol Navrocki, has denied claims that the president’s veto of an amendment to the law on aid for Ukrainians would result in Starlink being shut down in Ukraine.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported this, according to Ukrinform.
According to Bogucki, Navrocki’s veto does not affect Starlink in Ukraine “since the expenses for it are financed on the basis of provisions of the current law, and the bill submitted to the Sejm by the President of Poland preserves this status quo.”
“This is sufficient for effective consideration of this presidential initiative in the Polish parliament in September. The same applies to supporting the storage of data for the government of Ukraine in a secure location,” he wrote on social media platform X.
Earlier, Polish Deputy Prime Minister for Digitalization Krzysztof Gawkowski criticized Navrocki’s veto, claiming it would lead to the shutdown of Starlink services provided by Poland to Ukraine.
“Karol Navrocki’s decision effectively disconnects internet (Starlink) in Ukraine, because this is essentially his decision regarding the law on aid to Ukrainian citizens. This is the end of Starlink internet that Poland provides to war-torn Ukraine. It also means the end of support for storing data of the Ukrainian government in a secure place,” Gawkowski wrote on X.
The report notes that Ukraine gained access to Starlink terminals in late February 2022. Since then, Ukraine has received over 50,000 terminals from international partners and donors, of which nearly 30,000 were funded by Poland, according to Ukrainian Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov in April of this year.
As reported, on Monday, August 25, Navrocki announced that he had not signed the amendment to the law on aid to Ukrainian citizens. The bill had envisioned extending social payments to refugees until March 2026.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk criticized the veto, but his government does not have the two-thirds majority in parliament required to override it.
Photo: Mikolaj Bujak/KPRP
Source: Poland denies Starlink shutdown in Ukraine despite presidential veto
